Senior Chief Will Curtis is as straitlaced as they come. While his fellow Sailors have partied their way through their enlistments, he’s had his eye on the prize–making master chief and retiring after thirty years of service.Lieutenant Brent Jameson is a Navy brat turned Annapolis grad. He’s lived and breathed the military his whole life, and he knows he’s destined for great things–once he’s … things–once he’s done paying his dues at the bottom of the ladder.
When their paths cross, both men know better than to give in to temptation, but that doesn’t stop them. It also doesn’t keep them from coming back for more, even though being discovered would sink their careers. Something has to give–Will can retire, Brent can resign, or they’ll both face court-martial.
But there’s also the option neither wants to acknowledge: jump ship and walk away from each other instead of ending their careers over a fledgling relationship. And they should probably decide before they fall in love.
Except–too late.
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This is the fourth book in the Anchor Point series, but each book stands well on its own. The Base and town in the recurring factor and there are some instances of reappearing characters from the previous book, but there is enough backstory that you are never lost or feel you need to stop and go read the previous ones.
In this book, we have Will, a near forty enlisted that is wanting to stay and retire as a Master Chief runs into a sexy young officer when he is called to a domestic call. The attraction is there for both men and they run into each other again at a bar where though they know the rule of fraternization, they think if they have hot sex then it will get them out of their systems. The plan backfires and they end up seeing each other knowing what they have on the line. Their affair is smoking hot and Nick J Russo’s narration makes it even hotter. If you have never heard Nick J Russo let me warn you, his voice, nuance and the way he acts out the scenes with, sigh grunts and moans are smoldering.
The storyline is pretty basic romance, with the rules on the line, careers on the line, lives that are changing and I love me a good May/December. I adored both of these men.
There are a few scenes here that are unforgettable. The guys go on a trip to Portland and the visit to the gardens is beautiful and steamy. The hot wing challenge is steamy in an entirely different way and I think one of my favorite scenes in the book. I had to wonder if Nick J Russo actually took this challenge to get the tastes, the sounds, and actions down the way he did. I couldn’t help but laugh a few times. The trips home at Thanksgiiving where the guys were separated and we saw their personal lives n a different way was good too but still… That hot wing challenge!
If you like Military romance, May/December, hot man-sex and an allover enjoyable fun read and hot wings, this is for you! ( don’t forget the first three just because they are awesome too!
“Sir.”
Such an innocuous word… yet after this book, filled with a completely different meaning.
Will met Brent on a domestic call at work, where Brent had been about to sleep with someone from Tinder (someone that he hadn’t known was married). A few days later, they end up meeting at a bar & have a quickie together, knowing it had to be a one time thing only, or else it could cost them their careers. However, they just can’t seem to stay away from each other.
Their scenes in bed are hot, & Will calling Brent “Sir” made it even hotter.
Another great book from LA Witt!
Rank & File is another steamy entry in the Anchor Point series. This time the theme is the extremely taboo, forbidden, the big, fat NO NO situation of fraternization. Specifically, fraternization between enlisted and officers in the military.
Will Curtis is a Senior Chief, an MA (Master at Arms), basically a security specialist or cop at the NAS Adams (naval base) when he meets a youn(ger) man, Lieutenant Brent Jameson, while on a domestic disturbance call. After the call, for some reason, Will cannot get Brent out of his mind, even though Brent is a) an officer and b) apparently straight. He knows it’s ironic, and disturbing, that the first man to catch his eye since his breakup, is a straight officer, but he just cannot get him off his mind. So he heads out to Anchor Point’s first and only gay bar in hopes of finding a hookup to wipe his mind of the younger man. Imagine his surprise when Brent walks through the doors of the High & Tight bar, looking sexy as hell and obviously looking to hookup. When they have their first hot and rough hookup in the bathroom, against the wall, it only serves to give both Brent and Will more fodder for their minds to ponder as they try, and fail, to keep their hands off each other in the coming weeks.
While I haven’t loved every book in this series, I did enjoy this one. It’s fairly low angst and both Will and Brent are likable, engaging characters. Their sexy times are suitably steamy and naughty, and Brent even does a nice amount of character growth as he’s searching for his way through the dilemma their relationship presents – either one of them retires or quits, or they continue their relationship in secret and hope for the best. While I wasn’t exactly surprised at Brent’s decision, I was pleased, as it was really the only way for this to have gone that would allow them an HEA.
LA Witt’s MM writing is always good for, at the very minimum, steamy man-on-man sex, and Rank & File is no exception. It, however, has the added bonus of having a nice plot and good execution. I’m definitely looking forward to the next installment of this series – Going Overboard.